[size=16pt]We’ll give Nigeria Africa’s biggest shopping mall –Obiechina, Aco-Hiteck MD
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By HENRY UMAHI
Saturday, July 24, 2010

After successfully constructing the biggest private housing estate in Abuja - the Aco-Hitech/AMAC Estate, with over 1,500 housing units along Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport road, Aco-Hiteck is about to start a most ambitious shopping mall in Africa.

The mall will be executed under a public/private agreement with the Enugu State government. It will be located within the premises of the old Eastern Nigeria Industrial Estate along Zik Avenue, Uwani, Enugu.
Under the agreement, the estate developers would fund the project and recoup through the sale of shops to interested individuals and organizations while the state government would provide land, security and enabling environment for the successful execution and management of the plaza. The project will be completed in two and half years at a budget of N3.5 billion.

The Managing Director of Aco-Hiteck, Dr. Alex Obiechina, told Saturday Sun: “The idea is to replicate the type of shopping malls you see in advanced economies like America and Europe. We want our people to shop with comfort as against shopping in tears or pains as obtains today. Our aim is for people to do their shopping in an air-conditioned environment, where there will be elevators, banks, parking lots and security. Indeed, everything will be readily available within the premises”.

Obiechina revealed: “The mall is strategically located to enhance the concept of the project, which includes the immediate sale of spaces. The great potential of this project is that it enhances commerce and seriously reduces inconveniences in buying and selling of goods. Indeed, we want to redefine shopping in Enugu by introducing a style powered by ultra modern facilities in contrast with the traditional markets common in Nigeria. What we are doing is like a transformation of business concept in this clime.”

From the words of the man behind the project, Aco-Hiteck has the manpower and financial strength to complete the project on schedule and according to specifications. Obiechina said that the company had proved its capability to handle ambitious projects by successfully completing the 1,500 housing units it jointly developed with Abuja Municipal Area Council (AMAC).

He said: “The cost of the shops will be moderate and it is open to Nigerians and foreigners, who are interested. We will do business on first come first served basis. As an organization that markets integrity, we assure prospective buyers of shopping spaces that would be worthwhile investment because we deliver on promise. For instance, we have completed all the 1,500 housing units in Abuja and handed over to the subscribers and everybody is happy.”

The project will take off as soon as the government provides the Certificate of Occupancy, as he assured that the financiers are ready. “The upgrade of the Enugu Airport will be an added advantage because people who are coming from various places can easily have a place to do comfortable shopping”, he noted.

On the cutting edge of Aco-Hiteck as an estate developing firm, the MD said: “Our major area of advantage is the ability to construct cheap, qualitaty buildings. We have made reputation in Abuja because of the quality of houses we build at a very low cost. Building affordable houses is our hallmark and we want to replicate it in Enugu. Wherever we go, the challenge is to build affordable quality houses. In other words, we give quality to money.


http://www.sunnewsonline.com/webpages/features/enterprise/2010/july/24/enterprise-24-07-2010-002.htm

Where will the mall be located? Enugu? Abuja?

I've always advocated for something like this in the East. This is why the Enugu International Airport is key to the economic revival of the East. More of this is welcome.

Ileke-IdI:

Where will  the mall be located? Enugu? Abuja?

Onlytruth:


After successfully constructing the biggest private housing estate in Abuja - the Aco-Hitech/AMAC Estate, with over 1,500 housing units along Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport road, Aco-Hiteck is about to start a most ambitious shopping mall in Africa.

The mall will be executed under a public/private agreement with the Enugu State government. It will be located within the premises of the old Eastern Nigeria Industrial Estate along Zik Avenue, Uwani, Enugu.
Under the agreement, the estate developers would fund the project and recoup through the sale of shops to interested individuals and organizations while the state government would provide land, security and enabling environment for the successful execution and management of the plaza. The project will be completed in two and half years at a budget of N3.5 billion.

The Managing Director of Aco-Hiteck, Dr. Alex Obiechina, told Saturday Sun: “The idea is to replicate the type of shopping malls you see in advanced economies like America and Europe. We want our people to shop with comfort as against shopping in tears or pains as obtains today. Our aim is for people to do their shopping in an air-conditioned environment, where there will be elevators, banks, parking lots and security. Indeed, everything will be readily available within the premises”.

There you have it.

So I have to travel to Enugu just to shop?

Odikwa serious.

When will malls like this be built in Ekit State?

Ileke-IdI:

So I have to travel to Enugu just to shop?

Odikwa serious.

When will malls like this be built in Ekit State? 

Actually you can just hop onto one of the local flights, hit Enugu within minutes, do your shopping and head back to Lagos same day. That airport is the key.

As for the viability of the mall, I can certainly say that it will be very viable. My experience in Enugu recently is that the town yearns hungrily for something like this.

We still haven't gotten West Africa's biggest FTZ to work -- what with the mall and all down there, we are already proposing another big "mall" project will save the day? Sigh!

I think this is a "promising" story. I hope that it actually WILL HAPPEN. Those in the SE have been talking more than doing in recent years. This could revolutionize the economy of not only Enugu, but have far fetching impacts in the whole zone.

Obiechina revealed: “The mall is strategically located [/b]to enhance the concept of the project, which includes the immediate sale of spaces. The great potential of this project is that it enhances commerce and seriously reduces inconveniences in buying and selling of goods. Indeed, [b]we want to redefine shopping in Enugu by introducing a style powered by ultra modern facilities in contrast with the traditional markets common in Nigeria. What we are doing is like a transformation of business concept in this clime.”

This mall should form part of a regional development Masterplan which should certainly nexus with other nodes in the East.

Kobojunkie:

We still haven't gotten West Africa's biggest FTZ to work -- what with the mall and all down there, we are already proposing another big "mall" project will save the day? Sigh!

And Kobo joins the fray! 

I share your skepticism. Prayerfully hoping. . .

From Enugu to Ekiti and Ekiti to Enugu is how much? Just to buy a #500 dress?

Anywayz, I guess that this is a good thing. Let's wait and see the outcome. Imagine, a mall like SawGrass Lakes Mall and Belks in Nigeria, awesome!
The problem is how this mall will be maintained. . . . Imagine trying on a shirt in the fitting room and all of a sudden; POWER'S OUT!

Ileke-IdI:

From Enugu to Ekiti and Ekiti to Enugu is how much? Just to buy a #500 dress?

Anywayz, I guess that this is a good thing. Let's wait and see the outcome. Imagine, a mall like SawGrass Lakes Mall and Belks in Nigeria, awesome!
The problem is how this mall will be maintained. . . . Imagine trying on a shirt in the fitting room and all of a sudden; POWER'S OUT!

You go take lantern finish am! lmao!

Anyway make the mall come first, we go find power join am. No shaking.

Ileke-IdI:

From Enugu to Ekiti and Ekiti to Enugu is how much? Just to buy a #500 dress?

Anywayz, I guess that this is a good thing. Let's wait and see the outcome. Imagine, a mall like SawGrass Lakes Mall and Belks in Nigeria, awesome!
The problem is how this mall will be maintained. . . . Imagine trying on a shirt in the fitting room and all of a sudden; POWER'S OUT!

There is currently a huge mall out in Tinapa for you to do all that presently. Problem is that mall is sucking government dry still  . . .   With Aba not too far, you would expect it to be the success we were promised.

You better believe that before you see my red cent, I must see that detailed development plan. Apparently they've done some big projects before in Abuja:

For instance, we have completed all the 1,500 housing units in Abuja and handed over to the subscribers and everybody is happy.”

The project will take off as soon as the government provides the Certificate of Occupancy, as he assured that the financiers are ready. “The upgrade of the Enugu Airport will be an added advantage because people who are coming from various places can easily have a place to do comfortable shopping”, he noted.

Isn't this the same company that worked on the mall that collapsed a couple of years ago in Abuja?

Housing units are nothing near the same as commercial units. For one, housing units make 100 times more sense than malls in Nigeria if you ask me.

Kobojunkie:

There is currently a huge mall out in Tinapa for you to do all that presently. Problem is that mall is sucking government dry still  . . .   With Aba not too far, you would expect it to be the success we were promised.

Where is Tinapa? [searched google, not explaining much]

Wont this enugu mall be built on private funds?

Onlytruth:



You go take lantern finish am! lmao!  

Anyway make the mall come first, we go find power join am. No shaking.  

Lol, onlyTruth, you're not serious.

“Our major area of advantage is the ability to construct cheap, qualitaty buildings. We have made reputation in Abuja because of the quality of houses we build at a very low cost. Building affordable houses is our hallmark and we want to replicate it in Enugu. Wherever we go, the challenge is to build affordable quality houses. In other words, we give quality to money.

Not too cheap, I hope.

Kobojunkie:

There is currently a huge mall out in Tinapa for you to do all that presently. Problem is that mall is sucking government dry still  . . .   With Aba not too far, you would expect it to be the success we were promised.

I honestly don't think you can compare Enugu with Calabar when it comes to affordability issues. Enugu guys carry dough somehow. I remember eating at one of the wayside joints in Enugu in 2007. It set me back about N5,000 just for food.

Enugu really yearns for stuff like this, and guys from Awka, Nsukka and even Onitsha will hit that mall bad bad.

They need a place to spend money within their "catchment area".

Kobojunkie:

Isn't this the same company that worked on the mall that collapsed a couple of years ago in Abuja?

Housing units are nothing near the same as commercial units. For one, housing units make 100 times more sense than malls in Nigeria if you ask me.

I don't know o! I'm just reading this and thinking about how great such mall would be. I am still holding out for more info.
No to fly by nights!

Enugu is the former regional headquarters of Eastern Nigeria. You can build a Tinapa in Calabar and it wont do the East any good. What you could have done there was a seaport thats world class.

Onlytruth:

I honestly don't think you can compare Enugu with Calabar when it comes to affordability issues. Enugu guys carry dough somehow. I remember eating at one of the wayside joints in Enugu in 2007. It set me back about N5,000 just for food.

Enugu really yearns for stuff like this, and guys from Awka, Nsukka and even Onitsha will hit that mall bad bad.

They need a place to spend money within their "catchment area".

The same enugu big 'boys' that have not been able to carry the Airport to greater heights, will definitely carry this one? Come on now!! That the 1% or so rich yearn for stuff like this does not mean all of Enugu is ready for and able to pay for this though. I am glad it is a private project though. At least that way, if things go wrong, the owners can act to fix things or let it rot like is the case in many parts of the country.

Kobojunkie:

The same enugu big 'boys' that have not been able to carry the Airport to greater heights, will definitely carry this one? Come on now!! That the 1% or so rich yearn for stuff like this does not mean all of Enugu is ready for and able to pay for this though. I am glad it is a private project though. At least that way, if things go wrong, the owners can act to fix things or let it rot like is the case in many parts of the country.

Kobo, you are wrong on that point. Mind you they are hoping for the [b]Enugu International Airport [/b]before completing this project. It means that they are hoping for "foreigners" like us to hit town too, and it will happen for sure!
Give me that Airport and that mall and I will be at home in the East.

Enugu is home to all Easterners and Nigerians. So don't underestimate Enugu at all.

mens dept:

Enugu is the former regional headquarters of Eastern Nigeria. You can build a Tinapa in Calabar and it wont do the East any good. What you could have done there was a seaport thats world class.

Spot on!

Kobojunkie:

The same enugu big 'boys' that have not been able to carry the Airport to greater heights, will definitely carry this one? Come on now!! That the 1% or so rich yearn for stuff like this does not mean all of Enugu is ready for and able to pay for this though. I am glad it is a private project though. At least that way, if things go wrong, the owners can act to fix things or let it rot like is the case in many parts of the country.

The airport issue is one that dates back to the Hostilities of the 60's. Though not to beat a dead horse and bring the war into play, denied an international airport  ( since Enugu airport is older than Lagos, Kano, and Kaduna's) was a state policy toward the former East prior to the need for one at PH.

People are looking for development, jobs, security, and infrastructure. In your Ekiti state, poverty is equally, if not more prevalent, yet that state boast of cocoa, timber, and abundant agriculture. Over 40 percent of cocoa products in the Western Naija come from here, yet nothing really to show.

mens dept:

The airport issue is one that dates back to the Hostilities of the 60's. Though not to beat a dead horse and bring the war into play, denied an international airport  ( since Enugu airport is older than Lagos, Kano, and Kaduna's) was a state policy toward the former East prior to the need for one at PH.

People are looking for development, jobs, security, and infrastructure. In your Ekiti state, poverty is equally, if not more prevalent, yet that state boast of cocoa, timber, and abundant agriculture. Over 40 percent of cocoa products in the Western Naija come from here, yet nothing really to show.

Rubbish . .  Enugu has been an international airport with customs and clearance to handle international flights for a long time. Please do not even think you are speaking to someone who has no clue here.

The issue with these projects is viability, simple and straight. . . nothing more!! You cannot say because a place has rich people means building expensive things there will work. We see how that did not work in Calabar, or even port harcourt and AkwaIbom. Enugu suffers from the very same.


The country, including the East is littered with hundreds of abandoned PRIVATE projects . . . projects that promised heaven and earth only to fail when it came to delivering simply because people made silly assumptions, without really studying the people in these areas.

Kobojunkie:

Rubbish . .  Enugu has been an international airport with customs and clearance to handle international flights for a long time. Please do not even think you are speaking to someone who has no clue here.

The issue with these projects is viability, simple and straight. . . nothing more!! You cannot say because a place has rich people means building expensive things there will work. We see how that did not work in Calabar, or even port harcourt and AkwaIbom. Enugu suffers from the very same.


The country, including the East is littered with hundreds of abandoned PRIVATE projects . . . projects that promised heaven and earth only to fail when it came to delivering simply because people made silly assumptions, without really studying the people in these areas.

You have a point there, though I disagree that Enugu airport has always been an International Airport. It has not. It is currently being upgraded and work is going on there now. If it has always been an international airport, why is it one of the demands of the south east (Ohanaeze and S/E governors)? Why can't I land there?
We've had this argument before and I won't repeat it.

About this project, I hope they did their home work well as per the design. Enugu is PERFECT for something like this.

I know, because I lived in Enugu for many years.

That international airport is the key.

Onlytruth:

You have a point there, though I disagree that Enugu airport has always been an International Airport. It has not. It is currently being upgraded and work is going on there now. If it has always been an international airport, why is it one of the demands of the south east (Ohanaeze and S/E governors)? Why can't I land there?
We've had this argument before and I won't repeat it.

About this project, I hope they did their home work well as per the design. Enugu is PERFECT for something like this.

I know, because I lived in Enugu for many years.

As always I am hopeful, but I just hope we start with the small, succeed and then go for the BIGGEST and the LARGEST, and the Longest etc when we prove ourselves good at the small. I remember wondering some years ago why we even bother starting projects when we are not even sure how it will end.  And this is no way limited to government projects. The Eastern part of the country definitely has its share of some abandoned 'massive' private projects . .  I always wonder what happens at that point.

Kobojunkie:

Rubbish . .  Enugu has been an international airport with customs and clearance to handle international flights for a long time. Please do not even think you are speaking to someone who has no clue here.

The issue with these projects is viability, simple and straight. . . nothing more!! You cannot say because a place has rich people means building expensive things there will work. We see how that did not work in Calabar, or even port harcourt and AkwaIbom. Enugu suffers from the very same.


The country, including the East is littered with hundreds of abandoned PRIVATE projects . . . projects that promised heaven and earth only to fail when it came to delivering simply because people made silly assumptions, without really studying the people in these areas.

What is "Rubbish" is that you contradict yourself. You say "well you guys have Tinapa", and we say it's not enough. Then you say "the boys haven't carried the airport to greater heights"  and we say Government has not given any license or go-ahead for any KLM, Air France or SA Airways to land at that strip. In fact it's currently closed in order to finally be upgraded.  

So yes, you dont know anything about Enugu, and this mall will not need your N500.  

You say the East is littered, , at least not illiterate like most in Ekiti-at least in comparison to Lagos, Oyo, and Ogun states. Most are there talking about Oral tales of the Olofin, while no credible infrastructure or "STUDY" has been carried out.

Nonsense

Kobojunkie:

As always I am hopeful, but I just hope we start with the small, succeed and then go for the BIGGEST and the LARGEST, and the Longest etc when we prove ourselves good at the small. I remember wondering some years ago why we even bother starting projects when we are not even sure how it will end.  And this is no way limited to government projects. The Eastern part of the country definitely has its share of some abandoned 'massive' private projects . .  I always wonder what happens at that point.

Kobo could you please list some of those "massive private projects" that failed in the east?

The biggest private project I know in the east is the brewery at Ama near Enugu (cost over $400 million).

Please list some for us.

mens dept:


You say the East is littered, , at least not illiterate like most in Ekiti-at least in comparison to Lagos, Oyo, and Ogun states. Most are there talking about Oral tales of the Olofin, while no credible infrastructure or "STUDY" has been carried out.

Nonsense

Lol, I'm not sure how you came to this conclusion. . .  . .